Blue Roses

Summary: two-shot. Don't own Gorillaz, just my oc's.

Part 1:

Once upon a time, there was a kind prince named Stuart. He was never rude nor mean; he treated everyone as though they were his friend. But that changed one night. It was the princes' nineteenth birthday and a nasty thunderstorm had come upon the castle that he called home. There had been a knock on the door, one of the guards answering it to a man asking for shelter from the storm. The guard went to Stuart immediatly and the stranger was granted a room and a personal invitation to the party by the prince himself. But the prince didn't know that this stranger that he gladly gave shelter to was a warlock by the name of Murdoc.

Murdoc had always been jealous of his rulers' status, plotting his downfall in the shadows of the party. His chance came when the prince was opening the presents. Murdoc bowed before him, smirking as black magic gathered at his clawed finger tips. "Though I came with nothin', I have one gift for ya', ya majesty." Everyone began to scream and run as the windows flew open and the candles were blown out and replaced with dark blue fire. Stuart was shocked, his heart shattered as his kindness was repayed with a curse of black magic.

Murdoc was cackling, muttering a strange spell in a foreign tongue as the curse began to take its' effect. Stuart screamed as he was hit, writhing in agony on the floor. His head pounded with pain, causing him to claw at his scalp frantically to stop the immense pressure. Little did he realize that he was changing physically, his frame becoming unnaturally tall and lean. His skin began to pale as though he were ill, his hair changing colors right before his eyes. The brown that he had been born with seeped away to a light blue, his eyes widening at the sight of it. Then it happened. His screams became ear piercing as blood trickled down his face, his eyes being sucked in leaving two black holes in their place.

When it was all over, Murdoc had scooped up the crown that had fallen and placed it on his own greasy head. "Feels good ta finally be king!" He smirked again, then looked down at the disfigured prince. "Ya' know, ya look better that way, dullard." Murdoc cackled again as the prince caught sight of his reflection. The prince was horrified and screamed, which only made Murdoc laugh more. "Why?" Stuart covered his mouth, feeling his two front teeth missing before he bursted into tears. He didn't notice Murdoc utter another spell, his castle becoming one that reeked of satanic evil. Murdoc, though proud of his work, looked at the prince with anger. "Get up and clean this mess up. And I expect it done in an hour or else 2 dents." And with that, he left the sobbing prince to the chore.

Stuart continued to cry for another few minutes before finally getting up, his mind heavily damaged and scarred. One last time he looked at the broken glass, hanging his head as he began the task at hand. And so began the princes' servitude, trying his best not to screw things up. It only lead to another beating if he did something wrong; his body was covered in bruises when the day was over. Most were from Murdoc, who followed him around relentlessly to either mess up his chores or beat the crap out of him for no reason. Stuart avoided mirrors as well. His horrifying visage was enough to send any person screaming in terror, but its' reflection made him cringe.

After a year of being Murdoc's slave, he began to wish for contact of any kind from the outside world. No one bothered to return or rescue him, for the forest had been cursed to hide the castle from eyes of everyone.

Or so Murdoc thought.

Outside of the kingdom's perimeter was a small village. It had no name, but plenty of people that were friendly and nice. And home to a very peculiar girl. Aviara Shade was known as one of the village oddities, coming from a noble family. She could read and write, which was considered taboo for women of her time. Her father took great pride in her abilities though, sometimes bragging at how intelligent she was. Many men didn't find her interesting; her opinions were too outspoken for their tastes. Aviara didn't seem to mind. She perfered a book over meaningless conversation of nobles.

Her mother had died when she was young, leaving her to take care of the house when her father was away on business trips. She would also do her fair share of the chores, cooking and cleaning like another woman. The servants were very appreciative when she did this and often allowed her to join them in their nightly chats. Aviara was also known for her beauty; dark red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail most days, wide hazel eyes that would glow with fire if she was angered, and skin as fair as snow. She was short, about five foot two inches, but she acted as though it didn't matter even when she managed to knock the teeth out of one of the suitors that thought she would be an easy woman.

It had been a typical day for her. She was tired of everyone looking down upon her every time she visited the book keeper, did what she considered her chores, and walked home without an escort. Aviara glanced down at the book in her basket, smiling as she opened it. At least the books she borrowed would take her away from reality, if only for a short time. Aviara sighed as she walked up the her room, a bored expression on her face. Like most women in the village, she wished for someone that would love her just the way she was and not for her noble status. "Who would want me anyway? I know how to read and write. Most men would rather have a bimbo that only knows how to cook and clean."

She watched the sunset from her window, opening it to feel the warm night air against her skin as she looked up into the darkening sky to find the first star of the evening. "I wish I could find a man- no, my soulmate. Then we can both be happy. I don't care if he's rich or poor, peasent or king, handsome or ugly; I just want him to love and accept me for who I am. Is that so much to ask?" The star only twinkled, a sour look replacing her hope. "Some good wishing on you."

However, someone else was also wishing on the same star. 2D, as Stuart now called himself, looked up at the night sky and sighed, heaving a bucket of water to his former home. Murdoc was passed out drunk again and wouldn't wake up until the next day if he was lucky, giving him a night of peace so that he could tend to the wounds that were recieved in a beating earlier. 2D couldn't help the whimper that came from his throat as he stared at his distorted reflection in the water, biting his lip as he put the bucket down just in time for the first star to appear. "Pwease, if it's not much ta as', ease me sufferin' jus' a little. I don' see wha' I did wrong, but I'm weally sowry. I tried ta be a good ruler, weally I did. I jus' wish I 'new where I went wrong."

He clasped both of his hands together like a child begging, staring hopefully up at the twinkling star. "I don' wanna be fis way for tha' res' of me life! Pwease, there has ta be a way, if only for a short time." 2D sighed, picking up the bucket and walking towards the kitchen again. "Wha' could ya do? It's prob'ly permanent 'nowin' tha' wanker. No one will love me now." He took one last look at the star before heading inside, ignoring the self-inflicted pain in his heart.

He hadn't known that he was being watched. The young asian woman had hid in the bushes, nodding silently to herself as she stared at the place he had been. She grinned as she walked away, thoughts buzzing in her head as she continued on to the village below. Tomorrow she had an appointment and she had no intention of missing it.

The next morning was the same for 2D, getting up and dressed, making breakfast that he always burned somehow (he could never figure out what went wrong) and then came the worst part of his morning routine. Waking up Muroc and telling him that breakfast was ready. Fortuantly, Murdoc was actually in a good mood and already awake by the time he got to his former bedroom. "Brea'fast ish ready, sir."

Breakfast wasn't so bad. 2D washed the dishes with a slight smile; the food hadn't been burned completely, so he had to be getting better. Murdoc was watching him from the doorway, dressed in nothing but a pair of pants and his cape. He could see the upside down cross adorned on Murdoc's arm, his mark of becoming a warlock. 2D waited for him to grow tired of watching him and leave, continuing on like he wasn't even there. Before he knew it, he was on the floor with the wind knocked out of him. It took another kick to his stomach to make him realize what was happening.

After several more kicks and punches, the violence came to an abrupt stop. Murdoc was walking out, muttering how worthless he was. Then he turned around with a malicious smirk. 2D knew what was coming up next, shutting his eyes and waited for the words to be said. "No one loves ya, ya little sod. If they did, don' ya think they would've come back for their prince?" 2D hissed with pain as he held his heart, silently begging for it to stop.

As Murdoc continued calling him names and telling lies, the pain gradually increased to the point where it felt like the organ was about to explode. When he finally stopped, 2D was laying on the floor in tears, his hands still clutching his heart and writhing in agony. This was another part of the curse; everytime a hateful word was said to him, his heart would be burdened with extreme pain. 2D waited, his body too numb to feel anything after the horrible torture. Murdoc was gone, having left the room cackling at his misdeed with a bottle of wine in hand.

"Pwease...don' let any 'f it be true."

Okay, I know what you're thinking. I'm off my rocker for doing this. And you're probably right. This isn't based on the disney version, but just the regular fairy-tale one. THe one where the prince is actually kind and the fairy (or in this case warlock) is evil.

But Please R&R. I think I might have made 2D ooc (Again!) and I do apologize.